Task force looks at financial projections

Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Members of the POA's financial task force spent some time last week looking at projections for the next five years. The projections are based on current numbers and don't include capital projects or emergency expenses.

Dwain Mitchell, the POA's chief financial officer, developed the projections based on the current budget. Although each department is slightly different, the average increase is about three percent each year, he said. All his projections are conservative, he said.

He described the increase assigned to golf income as "flat" in spite of the fact that future revenue will not include Berksdale. The course will close completely at the end of the year. Although the number of courses will decline, the number of rounds may not. In fact, his projection showed a slight increase in golf revenue from $4,317,000 to $4,600,000 over five years.

His projections also show an increase in food and beverage income, reflecting the fact that the POA now manages both Lakepoint and the Country Club, as well as the Highlands snack bar. In 2018, the budget shows an income of $1,914,137. The projected income for 2023 is $3,828,547.

Expenses are also projected to increase over the next five years by about 17 percent.

The projections don't include capital expenses like replacement vehicles and building maintenance, Mitchell said. Since depreciation is included in the budget, some of those expenses will be covered. At the next meeting, the task force will consider other capital expenses.

Emergency expenses, including things like repairs after flooding, are also not included.

The task force was formed in January to develop a five-year plan, Mitchell said. Most of the POA's reserve funds have been spent over the last two years on projects like renovating the Lakepoint building and the Country Club. The task force will make recommendations for the board to consider later this summer.

He was also asked to project financial data for some new ideas discussed at earlier task force meetings.

He estimated that staying open an additional day at the trap and skeet range would increase revenue by $3,500 over the five year period. Two "glamping" pods (small cabins for glamorous camping) in Blowing Springs park would bring in $10,461. By taking over operations of the marina on Loch Lomond, the POA might earn an additional $32,000. He also looked at using a central sales force for booking all venues and the POA managing rental homes, similar to Vacation Rentals.

The task force is also interested in saving money and Mitchell supplied numbers on discontinuing American Express cards, encouraging water customers to use e-bills, switching assessment statements to email and changing some phone lines and internet providers.

The 10 options that Mitchell looked at might result in about $320,000 in additional income. A conservative approach would be to use about half of that projected income in future plans, about $160,000.

General News on 06/13/2018